Wargames Magazine Index

Over 7800 articles indexed from Miniature Wargames, Battlegames, Wargames Illustrated, Wargames Soldiers & Strategy, Practical Wargamer, etc.
Most recent additions: July 2024

 ==>  Click here to access the complete index <==
(masterfile, each magazine has its own tab in the spreadsheet) 

==> Click here to access the single tab index <==
(composite file, extracted from masterfile, all tabs concatenated) 

This project was covered extensively during Henry Hyde's Battlechat #14, January 2019

This page received the
Battlegames Award for Excellence
January 25, 2017

Mostly for my own use (I became tired of spending too many hours searching through my magazine collection), I started putting together an index for my wargaming magazines and periodicals. Since this might also be useful to fellow wargamers, the index is open to everyone. The file format is deliberately kept simple (Google Drive spreadsheet). Although a more complex setup might provide better opportunities for flexible use and search, it also often is the death-knell for maintaining files such as this one in the long run.

Thanks to:  

• Robert McLean who donated a dozen of Practical Wargamer and Miniature Wargames in April 2016, and then again donated more Practical Wargamer (35 issues) in April 2017.
• Jim Duncan, who brought 50 issues of Miniature Wargames - and Wargames Illustrated 111 (which I was missing!) to CRISIS 2016 and donated them to this project.
• Pascal Toupy, who provided me with a copy of Wargames Illustrated issue 51 and Wargames World 5, thereby completing  this series (March 2017).
• Graham Tuer, who donated 170 issues of Miniature Wargames, including issues 1-50 (April 2018), and another big batch of magazines in June 2022.
• Whirlwind, who provided many missing copies of Miniature Wargames (January 2019).
• Robert Kime, who donated a number of issues of Practical Wargamer (January 2019).
• Richard Clarke from Too Fat Lardies, who donated a lot of Practical Wargamer, Battle for Wargamers, and some Miniature Wargames at CRISIS 2019.
• David Shuttleworth for providing content lists of missing issues of Miniature Wargames (November 2020)
• David Anderson for providing me with many corrections, additions to the current database. They will be added in due time (April 2021).
• Wim Vandenberghe who donated some missing magazines of Miniature Wargames and WSS (August 2021).
• Martin Sheppard for providing some missing issues of Practical Wargamer (July 2022)
  

Donations of old magazines are graciously accepted

I won't offer you any money for donated issues, but I'll take them off your hands and free up your storage space. Even if you have only a few issues to give away, please consider donating them instead of throwing then in the bin :-).

How to use?

Access one of the links above (links to a Google Sheet file on Google Drive).

• To search, use the "Data --> Create Filter View" operation. This allows you to select data fields based on values, such that you can easily search for all articles related to the Ancients period, or list all articles containing a scenario, etc. You can enter multiple filter conditions for different fields. Alternatively, you can search for any keyword in the entire file.
• Note that different magazines all have their own tab in the spreadsheet in the masterfile.The single-tab file has all entries concatenated. This file should be extracted automatically from the masterfile when you open it, but let me know if you experience problems.
• A remark w.r.t period: Some periods have subcategories. E.g. for WW2 you'll find some subtheatres such as WW2/Africa or WW2/Marketgarden. Often, I introduced those at a later stage when a category became too large, but this means some older entries might still fall under the more generic category. I claim no 100% correctness, so if you see obvious errors, please report them. 
• See also this blogpost for some examples.

Current contents (alphabetical order)

• Battle (for Wargamers)
• Battle for Wargamers ran from October 1977 till October 1978, when it was incorporated in Military Modelling.
  
• Battlegames: 1-34 (complete, all issues indexed)
• Battlegames ran bimonthly from March 2006 till March 2013, when it was "merged" into the new Miniature Wargames with Battlegames.
• Back issues: http://www.payhip.com/henryhyde or http://www.wargamevault.com
• Classic Wargamer's Journal: issues 0-4
• CWJ was a publication by Phil Olley, and 5 issues appeared during 2010-2011.
• Miniature Wargames
• 1-360:
• Still missing: 305, 307-308, 321-329, 331-339, 341-343, 345-348, 350-351, 354, 356-360
• Incomplete issues of MW (I have copies, but some articles have been removed): 153, 156-158, 174, 210, 214, 216-219, 222, 223, 237, 240, 248, 255, 282, 283, 287, 289, 290, 293-298, 302, 303, 310, 311, 313-318, 320, 330, 340 . : 
  
• 361-484: all issues published so far entered, except 481 (never received it).
• 485+: no issues so far, I stopped my subscription.
  
• Some more info:
• Issue 1 of Miniature Wargames was published April 1983.
• Issue 361: name became "Miniature Wargames with Battlegames" (Henry Hyde editor, merge with Battlegames magazine).
  
• Starting issue 403 (November 2016), "with Battlegames" was dropped from the title (John Treadaway took over from Henry Hyde as editor).
  
• Henry Hyde (former editor of Miniature Wargames w Battlegames) has provided me with pdf files containing an extensive index for issues 1-350.
• For additional digital content, see here (newest) or   here (recent issues) or here (older issues).
• Back issues: see publisher's website.
• Practical Wargamer: Only 2 issues missing
• PW was published from Autumn 1987 to February 1999 (Vol 13, 1).
• Missing issues of Practical Wargamer: Vol 11/2, Vol 11/6 
  
• Secrets of Wargame Design: series based on the writings of Wally Simon.
• Volumes 1-8
• Vae Victis:
• selected special issues
• Wargamers Annual: 
• Annuals 2010 to 2024, including the Summer specials.
• Wargamer's Notes:  issues 1-5
• digital pdf magazine, 1st issue published January 2017
  
• Wargames Illustrated
• 1-259 all entered. These are the "black cover" issues (September 1987 to May 2009), up to the the takeover of the magazine by Battlefront in 2009.
• A few issues from 260+ have been indexed (see above).
• Special issues of Wargames World (spin-off from Wargames Illustrated during the late 80s):  issues 1-6. Issues 1-5 date from 1988-1989, issue 6 is a special issue March 2021.
• Current publisher's website: wargamesillustrated.net
• Missing issues of Wargames Illustrated: 267, 269-271, 273-278, 280-290, 292-294, 296-366, 368+
  
• Incomplete: 262, 263, 264, 265, 268, 291, 295
  
• Wargames Journal
• Sampler issue
• Wargames, Soldiers, Strategy (WSS)
• pre-78: a number of issues missing:  7-12, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22-32, 34, 36, 38-41, 43-45
• 78+: All issues entered (I have a current subscription).
  
• Issue 54 is the first WSS ""new style" by Karawansay. 
•  Books
• I have also entered specific chapters from wargaming books.
• Battle Notes for Wargamers - Donald Featherstone
• Wargaming Ancient and Medieval Periods - Donald Featherstone
• Wargaming Pike-and-Shot - Donald Featherstone
• Wargaming in History vols 1-12, published by Ken Trotman 
• Refighting History vols 1-8, published by Partizan Press 
• Buildings for the Military Modeler - Ian Weekley 
• ... 

What type of article is included?

• All articles that relate to gaming (rules, scenarios, history, campaigns, ...)
• Columns and opinion pieces: some of them (personal selection). Columns are a good read at the time of publication, but often lose relevance several years later.
• What is not included?
• Reviews of products are not included. This would be useful if indexed by product, but that is way too much work. Exceptions are extensive reviews, typically mixed in with designer notes.
• Reports of conventions and gaming days are not included. Again, the relevance is debatable several years after the facts.
• Articles that deal with other outdated material, such as discussion of computer games or websites.

Data for each article:

• Besides the usual (title, author, issue number, ...) I also have listed the period using common abbreviations, and added a checkmark whether the article contains a scenario / rules / campaign information / historical background / modeling. The Misc category indicates anything else, and that should be obvious from the Remarks column, which might also contain additional info that could facilitate searching or locating a specific article.
• If you spot errors, want to make additions for a certain entry, ... please let me know, and I will adjust the entry accordingly.

FAQ

1. Can you scan a specific article for me?
   Short answer: It depends.
   Long answer: Especially for newer issues and/or magazines still in print that are offering back issues, I think it would be inappropriate if not illegal w.r.t. copyright. I also think it would not be very polite if the original author is still active in the hobby.
2. Do you have pdf's of all the magazines?
   I have pdf's of some issues - not all. Most of my issues are in my collection as hardcopies. I still subscribe to the physical copies of current magazines. Whether I have an issue as a pdf or hardcopy is also indicated in the index.
3. Can you provide some more information on an article before I order a backcopy?
   This is something I can do quite easily. E.g. an article that provides a set of rules, but you would like to know whether these are skirmish rules or grand-tactical; or you would like to know how much history an article really contains about a specific battle. However, bear in mind I do this as a hobby project, so I feel no obligation to provide you with an answer within 24 hours.
4. When will issue such-and-so be included?
   I will only enter the issues that are physically (or digitally) in my collection. If anyone wants to add other content, please contact me and perhaps we can set something up. If you have a similar index of your own, I can always include it in the additional links provided below.
5. Are existing entries updated or corrected?
   Yes. When I look up articles for my own use, I regularly update the relevant entries for the magazine issue in which the article was published. Usually this means adding some more notes in the remarks section. Occasionally, a specific article entry is substantially corrected, e.g. when it was mislabeled or categorized in a different period.
6. Can I make a (partial) copy of the entire file for my own use?
   Sure, why not? Buy me a beer at the next convention. Crisis in Antwerp is a good place for beers  ;-)
7. Why are you doing this?
   I became tired of browsing through my magazine collection in search of a specific article. But there is also a second consideration. I firmly believe the history of our hobby deserves being documented, and keeping a collection of early wargaming magazines is a little effort on my part to make this happen.

Similar resources for wargaming related magazines

Miniature Wargaming

• Lone Warrior
• Military Modeling Magazine
• index 1971 - 1976, on the One Sided Miniature Wargaming Discourse blog 
• Slingshot Index (on Society of Ancients' website)
• Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers
• Download page
• Vae Victis
• Wargamer's Newsletter
• Index (Vintage Wargaming Blog)
• Scans of newsletters (1962 - 1980)
• Wargames Illustrated
• Archive on the Wargames Illustrated site 
• Wargames Illustrated also provides The Vault, a search in its own archives
• Wargames Soldiers Strategy
• WSS site

Board (War)Gaming

• The General (Avalon Hill)
• Another The General site
• Ares (SPI)

(Fantasy) Roleplaying

• Dragon Magazine
• Scans of complete issues 
• Dungeon Magazine
• Space Gamer
• White Dwarf
• Index of issues 1-100
• Scans of complete issues

General

• Page on The Tactical Wargamer that has an overview of various wargaming magazines. 
• More links to wargaming magazine resources on grognard.com 
• Thread on Boardgamegeek that lists some magazine resources for board wargames 

Scans of Articles

• https://steve-the-wargamer.blogspot.com/p/word-document-jpgs-of-original-article.html has many scans of original Table Top Teasers by Charles Grant.